Thursday, February 14, 2013

Crowdfunding and RPGs: Play on Target Podcast Ep. 4

For the fourth episode of Play on Target, we take a look at Crowdfunding, with special attention to Kickstarter. Here's one of those cases where recording several months ahead of time bites us in the ass. There have been some important events and shifts since we recorded this. Notably, we've seen a couple of RPG projects hit rocky waters and create turmoil in the RPG community. At least two high profile projects have gone off the rails, with a lack of information from their creators. In one case we've seen projects sold at a convention and then slowly, slowly trickle out to purchasers over the next several months with a lack of clear statement from the project's authors. Then there's the case of TableTop Forge, which I mentioned positively in the podcast. They've shut that down and merged with Roll20; the app will supposedly and strangely be decommissioned at the end of the month. Part of what makes that interesting has been watching supporters on both sides argue over those situations. I've seen a couple of threads arguing about the philosophical paradigm behind Kickstarter- and the "correct" viewpoint supporters need to have (viewing as a pre-order, viewing as an investment, etc.). I should also note that since we did the show I found out that IndieGoGo, I believe, can actually have projects where even if the funding level isn't reached, the creators still take the money. I read some concerns about that regarding the development of computer games and apps. Crowdfunding and RPGsPlay on Target Episode RoundupThis episode covers the basics and gives our (sometimes differing) opinions on crowdfinding and who should be doing it. Since we recorded it I've also been involved in the Everything is Dolphins (via my sister), Hillfolk/DramaSystem, Ehdrighor, ICONS: Great Power, Nova Praxis, Bones, and the FATE Core Kickstarters. If you like RPG Gaming podcasts, I hope you'll check it out. We take a focused approach- tackling a single topic each episode. You can subscribe to the show on iTunes or follow the podcast's page at www.playontarget.com.